Senate seeks alternatives to WHTI's passport requirement

Michael Milligan, Travel Weekly, 5/31/2007

A low-cost alternative to a passport would have to be available to travelers before the land and seaport phase of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative could take effect next year, under an amendment attached to an immigration bill now pending in the Senate.

Under the WHTI law, air travelers are already required to possess a valid passport in order to re-enter the U.S. As early as January 2008, the same requirement will be extended to travelers crossing U.S. land borders and seaports.

However, the amendment would suspend the passport requirement for land and seaport crossings until the Dept. of Homeland Security completes a pilot program that will test whether an "enhanced" driver's license would adequately serve as a passport substitute.

The DHS is slated to conduct the pilot program in the state of Washington, starting in January.

Additionally, the legislation requires that a low-cost passport alternative, such as a proposed passport card, would have to be available before the passport rule is extended to land and seaport crossings.

The amendment also encompasses a plan proposed by the DHS that would permit children ages 16 and younger traveling with their parents and children under 18 traveling in a school or other group to cross the U.S. border into Canada and back with a birth certificate rather than a passport.

Amendment co-sponsor Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), ranking member on the Senate Homeland Security Committee said legislation would "require the DHS to closely evaluate the driver's license pilot program and consider expanded use of driver's licenses, and it helps ensure that the federal government adequately prepares for implementation of the WHTI."

The WHTI has already impacted the government's passport offices with the State Dept., which reported it has experienced a sharp rise in passport applications. Earlier this year, the department said, based on trends at the time, it expected to issued as many as 17 million passport this year, or 40% more than 2006.

The increase in applications is also resulting in delays.

The State Dept. said routine passport processing, which usually takes a few weeks, is now taking as long as two-and-a-half months.

Against that backdrop, the travel industry has questioned whether government passport offices will be overwhelmed as considerable more travelers seek the documents in order to comply with the WHTI's passport requirement for land and seaport crossings.

Sen. Norm Coleman (R-M.N.), a member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee and co-sponsor of the amendment, said, "It is essential that we take every step to avoid travel disruption during the land phase, which by all predictions will be even more of a headache. With the recent improvements in driver's license security, we would be foolish not to allow Americans to voluntarily enroll in a program to allow their use for driving to Canada."

The National Tour Association has voiced support for the legislation.

"These reasonable modifications to WHTI will help to maintain border integrity and facilitate cross-border tourism," said Jim Santini, NTA's Washington lobbyist.

Meanwhile, the fate of the immigration bill remained unclear. Although the bill is support by President Bush, lawmakers in the Senate and the House have criticized the bill, arguing it will do little to stem illegal immigration into the U.S.